Girls Bowling: Central Jersey Qualifiers

Carteret's Crissy Golino will be advancing with her team in Group 1 at the state finals on Feb. 11 Amanda Brown/The Star-Ledger

Six of the eight teams that advanced at the NJSIAA Central Jersey sectionals yesterday at Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick will be in familiar territory at the state finals on Feb. 11.

Those teams are sectional champions Howell in Group 4, North Brunswick in Group 3, Manasquan in Group 2 and Carteret in Group 1, as well as Group 4 runner-up South Brunswick and Cardinal McCarrick, which was second in Group 1. New to the finals scene this year will be Franklin and Ocean Township, the runners-up in Group 3 and 2, respectively.

"The first game we were pumped up, we felt good, it was strike after strike," Franklin's Tori Risorto said. "It broke down a lot after that. We struggled in game three."

Manasquan and Ocean Township, rivals in the Shore Conference Central A Division, rolled 2,462 and 2,422, respectively, and will meet in the finals in Group 2.

Ocean was in sixth in Group 2 after rolling 733 in the first game, but Sarah Gerstein's tournament high game of 258 helped the team step up with 852 and 857 in the final two games.

"The first game we struggled but we didn't let that get us down," Gerstein said. "This is an awesome feeling. It's awesome to put the strikes together and come back."

Howell fired a 906 and 1,062 in the first two games but struggled in the third. Despite the inconsistency, it out-bowled South Brunswick, the defending Group 4 champion by 45 pins.

"Today was a big learning experience for us because our third game wasn't that strong, but now we know what to do when we get to the finals," Howell's Michelle Gulino said. "It's about reading the lanes and communication. You can't just have one or the other."

Cardinal McCarrick, the defending Group 1 state champion, has a shot at the title again. Like Howell, the Middlesex County school enjoyed a strong start with scores of 959 and 862, but fell off the pace in Game 3 with a 762, finishing 49 pins behind Carteret.

Katie Latham, despite battling shoulder fatigue, had the third highest series for the sectional with a 643 for Cardinal McCarrick and advanced to the state individual finals on Feb. 13.